Dr. Hobart H. Beale

Dr. Hobart H. Beale, MD, DDS, age 77, of Martin, died Friday at the TN State Veterans’ Home in Humboldt. He was born to the late Dr. Harrie “Doc” and Helen Brooks Beale, September 19, 1936, in Martin. His grandparents were Mr. and Mrs. Luther Brooks of Martin, and Mr. and Mrs. Mike Beale of Como, KY. He was a member of First Baptist Church in Martin.

Funeral services will be held at Hornbeak Funeral Chapel on Wednesday at 2:00 p.m. Bro. David Brown will officiate. Burial will follow at New Hope Cemetery in the Chestnut Glade community. Visitation will be from 5:00 p.m. until 8:00 p.m. on Tuesday at the funeral home.

Pallbearers are John E. Harris, Larry Damron, David Murphy, Dr. Don Lyerly, Jimmy Callis, and Justin Callis. Honorary pallbearers are Dr. O.K. Smith, Dr. Bill Shore, Mark Horne, Jim Moore, Tony Burton, Larry Alexander, Scotty Brewer, Chuck Bailey, Jeff Washburn, Chris Butts and Drew Cunningham.

Dr. Beale graduated from Martin High School in 1954. He attended the University of Mississippi, where he completed his pre-dental work, and he was a member of Sigma Nu fraternity. He also attended Millsaps College before entering the UT Dental College in 1957, where he was a member of the Delta Sigma Delta professional fraternity. He received his DDS degree in 1959, and he was commissioned into the U.S. Army Dental Corps as 1st Lt. in 1960, serving at Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville, AL. He was discharged with the rank of Captain in 1962, and then he opened a private dental practice in Albertville, AL.

In 1964 Dr. Beale left dentistry to pursue his dream of becoming a medical doctor, and he was accepted at the UT Medical School at Memphis. He received his MD degree in 1967, and he interned at Tampa General Hospital in Tampa, FL until 1968. He joined the Carroll County Health Department in 1968 as Director, also serving Benton, Henry, and Weakley counties.

In 1969 Dr. Beale opened his private medical practice at the Martin Medical Center, where he was a physician for 30 years until his retirement in 1999. He was one of the last of a vanishing breed of doctors who made house calls as a part of his practice, and he is remembered by many of his patients for his personal attention and genuine concern for their needs. He cared deeply for his patients and his community. One of his proudest accomplishments was the delivery of 1,115 babies during the span of his career.

Dr. Beale began his association with the UT Family Practice Residency Program in 1976. He taught at the University of Tennessee Family Practice Center at Jackson as a part-time clinical professor until 2010, where he received the Excellence in Teaching Award three times. In 2007 he was named Tennessee Family Physician of the Year by the Tennessee Academy of Family Physicians.

Dr. Beale had a lifelong love of sports. He played football for Martin High School in 1953, and he was awarded the school letter. He coached a championship-winning little league baseball team in Albertville, AL in 1963. His longest-running association was his 30 years as team physician for the Westview Chargers football team. He received a Distinguished Service Award in 2000 from the Tennessee High School Athletic Administrators Association for three decades of service to Westview football. He was also a dedicated fan of UT “Big Orange” football and an avid golfer. In 2010 Dr. Beale, with the assistance of Mary Ann Davis Baxter, completed the publication of Panthers: Martin High School 1924-1969: 45 Years of MHS Football. This extensive book chronicled a game-by-game history of the Martin High School football program. In his final thoughts at the end of the book, Dr. Beale wrote, “I’ll know that I have reached Heaven when I reach the Pearly Gates, and I can see the lights from a football field in the distance, and Saint Peter says, ‘You’ve still got time for a hot dog and a Coke before the kickoff.’”He was also a 50 year member of the Martin City Masonic Lodge # 551.

Dr. Beale was preceded in death by his wife, Janet Brewer Beale, and two brothers, Dr. Irvan Beale of Centerville, TN and Dr. Joe Beale of Paris, TN. He is survived by two daughters, Julie Beale (Jimmy Callis): Bonnie Beale and fiancé Tony Burton; Patsy Beale, mother of his two daughters, all of Martin. He is also survived by his grandson Justin Callis and fiancé Lisa Marie Jarrell of Nashville; granddaughter Jada Callis (Drew) Cunningham of Knoxville, and numerous cousins, nieces, and nephews.

Memorials may be made to the Martin First Baptist Church Building Fund at 731-587-9555, or www.fbcmartin.org), or the Alzheimer’s Association at 800-272-3900, or www.alz.org.
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